Florist&#39;s knife



April 1954 E, v. DARPINIANV FLORISTS KNIFE Filed Feb. 26. 1951 INVENTOR.Ewvzsr M UHRPIN/HN Patented Apr. 27, 1954 UNITED :s TATE-s .ENT OFF! CEFLORISTS KNIFE Ernest Yaun'Darpinian, Modesto, Calif. ApplicationFebruary 26, 1951, Serial No. 212,747

2 Claims. $1 This inventionrelates'toa fioristsknife. One of the-objectsof the'invention is the provisionof a -lorists knife that-is adaptedtor'be quickly secured on the thumb of-theusenin-a*position This workhas heretofore-beendone-by use of a knife held in the-'hand'of-the user.This means rat the fingers-of'the hand' thatholds the knife arenotusablefor-wrapping; wiring orarranging theflowers' until the iknife'islaid down. Each period of timethat elapses-betweenuses of the knife,when the knife is laid aside-and isyagain picked up, represents-a totalloss "to the florist, and the totalof such periodsduring-a day mayrepresent sui-ficient time to "havemade upseveral additional floralpieces.

It is also a-common occurrence for-a florist to inisplace his hand knifeortocover it upwith foliage or flowers "whenit is "laidon the worktable. Not only is a considerable amount of time lost in findingthe-knife, under such occurrence, but in many instances *the floralarrangement may-be disturbed or injured, requiring additional time toreplace the disarranged parts.

With the present invention the knife is carried on the thumb of therightor left hand, according to whether the user is'right" or lefthanded, or

- a knife maybecarried on both thumbs.

An object of the invention is the provision of such a knife for carryingon the thumb, and which knife wilt not interfere with the use of thethumb and fingers of'the handin-making floral pieces while it is on saidthumb, and-which knife has safety means associated therewith thatautomatically prevents accidental cutting of objects when the knife isin use. This safety means automatically moves away from the cutting edgewhen the knife is used for cutting.

.Other objects andadvantages will appear in description and.inthewdrawings.

In the drawings,

liis an .enlargeduvertical sectional-view through the knifefland -the'finger stall showing *thesa-me on the thumb and in 'inoperative-posi-Cfl its

Fig. 2 is an'elevational View illustratinga flower stalk held ina--hand-ofthe floristand being cut by the knife.

Fig. 3 is a topplanviewrof the'finger-stall and knife.

Fig. 4 is a front elevationalview of'a preferred form of blade that maybe'used showinga means for holding the'blade'to the thumb-to preventbeing swung awayfrom the thumbin' a thorn stripping operation-or othersimilar operation.

In detail, the invention -as herein shown-comprises a finger stalll-thatmay beef-rubber or of other similar flexible, res'ilient material,and which may have a'reinforcing head -ZarOund'the open end.

Thumb stalls usually substantiallyconform in cross-sectional contour tothG 'CIOSSSSCtiOIIaI' contour of the thumb, there being a nail or rearside 3 that is adapted to extend over the-nail of the thumb, and afront-sided that extends over the ball of the thumb.

Carried on the nail side-of the present stall, is a-knife.-blade-5-(Fig.-'4) having arelatively Wide outer end portion S't-hat issubstantially as wide as the nail of thethumb of the user, and whichwidth is about the widthof the thumb.

The blade 5 also includes=an=elongated shank 1' that projects'downwardlytherefrom; and lateral extensions t that are intermediate theopposite ends of the blade. These extensions-8 may have slightlyenlargedouter ends 9, and they'are bent to generally'follow the transverse crosssectional contour ofa thumb, or-ofstall I.

The shank i and extensions-'8 including a part of the enlarged end' tofthe blade are imbedded in the material ofstall I. This may-be done at:the time the -stall is-molded. The said shank-l will extendlongitudinally of the stall and down its nail or rearside to about-thefirst joint, and the outerend portion of the enlarged end'6 will projectbeyond theouter end of the main body of the stall l.

r The words -1nai-n-- bodyportien used with respect to the stall hisintendedto mean the portion that engages the thumb to'the outer end ofthe latter. When the stall isslipped onto the thumb, it will only go onto the point where the main body portion extends partially over theouter end of the thumb to a distance abouteven with said outer end. Itcannot bepulled onto the thumb any further than enough to enclose thethumb in themain body of the stall.

As aIrea-dymentioneda substantial part of the enlarged end 5 of theblade 5 extends beyondthe -ma-in body ofstall i l and" the-' outer "edgeof v the projecting portion extends transverselymf the longitudinal axisof said stall about the width of the thumb. Said outer edge is sharpenedthereby forming a cutting edge l that is preferably slightly convexlycurved linearly thereof. The ends of said edge are not sharp, but mergeinto the rounded corners I2 of the blade where the blade is full width,so there are no sharp corners that would be likel to accidentally cutoutside objects or snag such objects.

The main body of the stall, is formed with an extension l5 that isrelatively restricted as compared with the diameter of said main bodyportion, so the thumb cannot extend into said extension. This extensionl5 extends slightly past the cutting edge [0 of blade 5 and lies alongsaid edge in close engagement with the blade. The side of portion 6 thatlies closely to the extension it is bevelled as at it (Fig. 4) toproduce said cutting edge, hence the said edge itself is practically inengagement with the extension 15.

By the aforesaid structure, the extension l5, which is hollow and of thesame resilient, flexible material as the main body portion of the stall,constitutes a guard for said cutting edge. The stall may be safelycarried in the pocket, or may be handled, or brushed against outsideobjects without fear of accidentally cutting anything, becausesufiicient pressure must be applied to the extension l5 to move it awayfrom said cutting edge before the cutting edge will cut. A direct axialmovement of the blade, as in forcing the cutting edge across a stalk(Fig. 2) will result in collapsing the extension or so compressing itthat it will move away from the cutting edge of the blade and the stalkwill be out.

The fact that the extension is hollow will enable it to become an airchamber 21 over the end of the thumb, as seen in Fig. 1, thus trappingair in said chamber, which air contributes its elasticity to that of thematerial itself for tending to hold the extension in a position guardingsaid cutting edge, and for returning the extension to guarding positiononce it has been moved away. It should be added at this point that saidelasticity is of great benefit in controlling the knife during a cuttingoperation as seen in Fig. 2. Were there no other resistance than thatexisting between the blade and the stalk, the blade might unexpectedlypass through the stalk and cut the finger 22 against which the stalk ispressed. But with the yieldable resistance supplied by the projection asand the air trapped therein, the movement of the blade is easilycontrolled and accidental cutting of finger 22 does not occur.

In a thorn stripping operation, the blade is held in the same positionas in Fig. 2, but merely against the stalk having the thorns. The stalkis arranged so that the thorns point downwardly and the blade is thenmoved downwardly in a scraping manner over the stalk, thereby removingthe sharp outer ends of the thorns.

Were the stall I alone relied upon to hold the blade during theoperation above described, the blade might be pulled away from the thumbor loosened in the stall, or the stall could even be torn.

The purpose of the extensions 8 is to hold the blade to the thumb when athorn removing operation is done. The extensions in combination with theblade form a partial ring that extends around the thumb, and if thethumb is relatively small, the extensions can be bent to snugly fit thesame.

Fig. 3 shows the extensions in such annular arrangement. I

It is also pertinent to note that the side i of the stall should berelatively thin. This is to enable the operator to wrap, wire andotherwise handle the material going up to form a floral piece withoutlosing the sense of feel that is a material part of making up a floralpiece.

The rear or nail side, is of course, fairly thick inasmuch as it holdsthe blade l and takes the strain that is placed on the blade.

While the use of the knife has been described with respect to making upfloral pieces, it is to be understood that the knife may be used inpicking flowers or fruit or wherever the cutting of a stalk or materialis desirable in the manner shown in Fig. 2.

I claim:

1. A florists knife comprising a finger stall of flexible, resilientmaterial having a main body portion adapted to fit over the thumb of auser with one side over and against the nail of said thumb and with theopposite side against and over the ball of said thumb, a blade securedto said one side projecting beyond the outer end of said main bodyportion and having a cutting edge facing outwardly of the latter, anextension on said stall projecting outwardly of said main body portionand over the end of said thumb when the stall is on the latter and inengagement with said blade along said cutting edge providing a guard toprevent accidental cutting by said edge, said extension being resilientand yieldable under pressure thereagainst to move away from said edgewhen said extension and said edge are in engagement with an object to becut and said edge forced through said object, said opposite side of saidstall being elastic and relatively thin to enable the operator toreadily feel objects held between the thumb and forefinger, and said oneside of said stall being relatively heavy and having a portion of saidblade embedded therein.

2. A llorists knife comprising a finger stall of flexible, resilientmaterial having a main body portion adapted to fit over the thumb of auser with one side over and against the nail of said thumb and with theopposite side against and over the ball of said thumb, a blade securedto said one side projecting beyond the outer end of said main bodyportion and having a cutting edge facing outwardly of the latter, anextension on said stall projecting outwardly of said main body portionand over the end of said thumb when the stall ison the latter and inengagement with said blade along said cutting edge providing a guard toprevent accidental cutting by said edge, said extension being resilientand yieldable under pressure thereagainst to move away from said edgewhen said extension and said edge are in engag ment with an object to becut and said edge is forced through said object, said extension beinghollow and overlying the tip of the thumb to provide an enclosed airchamber when said stall is on said thumb.

References Cited in the file of this patent

